“As long as I can remember I’ve been drawing on myself,” said Angela Yonker of Seattle during the Seattle Tattoo Expo at Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. Yonker got her first tattoo when she turned 18. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I just started and never stopped. I just always thought they looked rad,” said Joe Axler of Seattle during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. Axler said he got his first “real tattoo” when he turned 16. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I got a tattoo and then another tattoo,” said Benny Walters of Seattle during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “I had a lot of friends that were tattoo artists.” He got his first tattoo when he was 23. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“This is my divorce tattoo,” said Laura Taylor of Seattle during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “It’s about getting something that means something to you.” Taylor got her first tattoo when she was 19. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“Now I’m a collector,” said tattoo artist Axl, who flew in from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle for the first time just to work and be at the Seattle Tattoo Expo. He got his first tattoo when he was 18. “I’m collecting [tattoos] from guys who I have a personal relationship with that represent a certain style.” (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“Loose Lips, an artist from Berlin, did my hand,” said tattoo artist Axl, who flew in from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle for the first time just to work and be at the Seattle Tattoo Expo. He got his first tattoo when he was 18.(Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“It’s about having something cool that nobody can take from you,” said tattoo artist Ed Learner with Seattle Tattoo Emporium during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. Learner got his first tattoo when he was 12 years old. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I’ve always just felt like it was a really cool way to express myself and share my life without talking,” said Nikki Wise of McKinleyville, CA during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. She got her first tattoo three years ago. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“For me it’s like therapy,” said Jim Newman from Pendleton OR during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “The needles doing its job and you just relax. Everything goes away when you’re on the table.” Newman got his first tattoo at age 18. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“For me it’s like therapy,” said Jim Newman from Pendleton OR during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “The needles doing its job and you just relax. Everything goes away when you’re on the table.” Newman got his first tattoo at age 18. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I really like color and I like the artwork, it’s kind of hard to explain,” said Dan Sparks of Richland, WA during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “I got one and then I was gonna just get the arm tattoo. It just something that grew on me,” he said. He got his first tattoo three years ago. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I really like color and I like the artwork, it’s kind of hard to explain,” said Dan Sparks of Richland, WA during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “I got one and then I was gonna just get the arm tattoo. It just something that grew on me,” he said. He got his first tattoo three years ago. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“It’s an extension of who I am. I get to be whoever I want to be,” said Heidi Lavon of Portland during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. Lavon got her first tattoo when she turned 18. She was at the expo representing the Tatshare mobile app. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I’m a shopping addict and this is a way for me to buy something that I’ll have forever,” said Hanna Pollock of Portland during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. Pollock got her first tattoo when she was 17. (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I’ve created an image of myself that requires me to be covered in art,” said Preston Ash of Portland during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. She got her first tattoo on June 6, 2006. “I’m a walking canvas.” (Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

“I grew up in Missouri and you had to be 21 to get a tattoo there. I lied to get my first one when I was 19,” said Lauren Busiere of St. Louis during the Seattle Tattoo Expo August 14, 2015 at the Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center. “I love collecting things, even as a kid, you know, bright shiny objects.”(Daniel Berman, Special to seattlepi.com)

Had a blast setting up a mini-studio inside the crowded and buzzing atmosphere of the Seattle Tattoo Expo for one of my oldest clients, The Seattle P-I. Photographer Joshua Trujillo gave me complete freedom on the direction of the work and I decided to go for a high-key, intimate vibe with the portraits.

Back in May I had a cover shoot from Seattle Weekly to photograph Gravity Pay CEO Dan Price at the payment processing company’s headquarters in Ballard. The story was held until now to be included in the Best Of Issue. When I photographed him, Price’s decision to offer a starting salary of $70,000 per year to all of his employees was met by an immediate deluge of international attention. He cut his own multimillion-dollar pay to be able to finance the move. Of course not everyone was happy with the announcement, but the business is seeing an increase in sales and Price says he stands by the principles of making such a transition: for all his employees to have an actual livable wage in the Northwest. Price was humble, present, and generous with his time, and had no problem posing for a few shots with the coffee cup prop we brought in. I gave it to him after the shoot! Assisting by Ian Bates.

Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price at their headquarters in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle May 11, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman for Seattle Weekly.

Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price at their headquarters in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle May 11, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman for Seattle Weekly.

Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price at their headquarters in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle May 11, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman for Seattle Weekly.

Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price at their headquarters in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle May 11, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman for Seattle Weekly.

Seattle Weekly’s art director Jose Trujillo commissioned me for an awesome piece in the paper’s Best Of Issue that would send up the idea of The Wimps, which won Best Punk Band, as this exclusive, uptight group barely making room in their day for the story. As luck would have it, Matt, Rachel and Dave are actually nice people and were game for the idea: Jose wanted to have the band enjoying a spa day somewhere kind of dirty — could it be in an alleyway? I scouted a few hours looking for the right sketchy/usable spot. I checked out parking lots and back streets in Capitol Hill, SoDo, Georgetown, Pioneer Square, the ID and Ballard. With hours to the call time I managed to spot a perfectly questionable, graffiti-covered sidewalk with an absurd amount of garbage strewn about. I did a slow roll. There were boxes of beer upturned, bottles everywhere, and someone had gotten ahold of some chalk. I liked the spot immediately and wondered who would litter like that, then parked the car and waited for the team to assemble. Under some nice intense sunlight and with the help of Seattle stylist Tristan Weholt who sourced and staged everything else (and made a plate of guitar-shaped tea sandwiches and refreshing fruit-infused water to boot), plus the help of good friend Matt McKnight assisting, we got to work transforming this SoDo backlot into our makeshift alley spa.

Seattle artist Adream, photographed for Northwest Leaf. Adream painted the cover of the magazine for the August 2015 Hempfest Special Issue. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com

Last month I had a great shoot with a Seattle painter by the name of Adream for a Q & A story in Northwest Leaf. Adream de Valdivia has been painting since he was a little kid and draws inspiration from his heritage, mathematical patterns and religious symbols. He has been commissioned to create large-scale murals through the Vulcan Foundation and is becoming well-known for his intricate, psychedelic artwork. Adream was very generous with his time, and as the Capitol Hill Block Party blared into his 3rd-floor studio just a block away, we talked about our paths to creativity and traded stories about the challenges of making it as a freelance artist around here. Check out more of his beautiful artwork at Adream Studios and on Instagram @Adream3000

Matt McIlwain is a managing director at Madrona Venture Group, the leading venture firm in Seattle with over $1 billion in assets —many of the data-hungry tech variety. Their 34th-floor office overlooks the bustling waterfront and a downtown cityscape in flux. Photos by Daniel Berman for Ozy.